Irish won't ignore bowl blue streak

December 11, 2005|JASON KELLY

SOUTH BEND -- like a batter jerking his chin away from high heat, Charlie Weis recoiled in his chair. He slung his right arm across his chest, as if it could deflect the hard fact just thrown at him before it pierced his heart. Notre Dame has lost seven consecutive bowl games dating back to the 1993 season. No ducking that. More the type to step into an inside pitch, Weis played the wounded, cowering role well for an instant. Then he explained how that stat, otherwise irrelevant to the Fiesta Bowl between No. 4 Ohio State and No. 5 Notre Dame, will factor into the motivational sermons to his players. "Oh, it'll be mentioned. It won't be history and move on," Weis said. "It'll be mentioned. Every day. Multiple times." Current Irish players don't have much more to do with it than Weis does. Some of them were around for the Gator Bowl loss three years ago. Most of them participated in the bowl-in-name-only Insight experience last season. None of them dwelled on those memories Saturday during the forced reflections of Fiesta Bowl media day, or attempted to diagnose a curiosity dating back more than a decade. "I have no idea why we've lost seven straight bowl games," defensive lineman Trevor Laws said. "I wasn't here, so it's kind of shocking to me. It's kind of a big statistic, really." And a stigma for Notre Dame, now accustomed to a New Year's hangover without the benefit of a celebration preceding it. Not ready to start partying just yet, the current incarnation of the Irish exuded an undercurrent of confidence that belied the haunting ghosts of bowls past. "I feel like we're a new team," Laws said. Nothing would validate that sense of renewal more than a bowl win. Already the 2005 season established a restorative tone inside the program, but doubt lingers outside. Aside from No. 1 USC, Ohio State will be Notre Dame's toughest opponent. As punctuation for this season and an introduction to the next, the Fiesta Bowl provides an opportunity for the Irish to erase recent history and generate momentum for the future. "You get a big win over one of the best teams in the country, it just sets you up for the run that we're going to make next year," Laws said. "So it's a huge game for us." Big enough not to require artificial inspiration. Ohio State, in itself, should command Notre Dame's undivided attention, but Weis always keeps psychological ammunition in his hip pocket. Seven straight bowl losses? Perfect for challenging their pride in a program they have worked to rebuild. "I think it gives you a great opportunity to humiliate them," Weis said, his feigned fidgeting transformed now into a fiendish grin, "and I think I'm really looking forward to that." For all his celebrated X-ing and O-ing, Weis relishes that more visceral element of preparation. He has a proven mind for offense, true, but also a gut feeling for how to sharpen Notre Dame's mentality to a barbed edge. "You could be playing a team that hasn't won a game in 100 years. They could have a record of 0-8,000," offensive lineman Dan Stevenson said, "and he will find a way to motivate you." No tortured statistical contortions necessary to prove Ohio State's status. With a national title and two Fiesta Bowl wins in the last three years, the Buckeyes represent what the Irish want to become. Defeating Ohio State would announce Notre Dame's return to that contending level and establish its place among the elite heading into next season. Not that Weis would allow his eyes to wander that far ahead. Looking back, on the other hand, felt perfectly appropriate in the name of motivation for the immediate task facing the Irish. "We haven't won a bowl game here in over a decade," Weis said, "let's see if we can try to do that."